The Tie-Down Debate: Cross vs. Don't Cross - Mac's Tie Downs
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- Опубликовано: 19 авг 2019
- Mac's founder and owner, Colin McLemore, explains why Mac's recommends that you do not cross your tie-down straps when securing your vehicle.
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In 20 plus years of towing and recovery I've always gone front to back. If you're worried about side movement add crossed secondary straps. I've seen too many problems from crossing straps over the years including chaffing
we drag race , haul 4 cars every weekend and use macs tie downs always. we cross tie the door cars and I have had way more problems with cars moving left to right than front to rear. every point this guy makes about cross tying starts with the tie down being used incorrectly. don't wrap them around points of interference keep the x long as possible.
I loaded and tied down many armored combat vehicle and we had to cross the chains and every corner of the tracks or tires we nailed chock blocks & then we tied the binders down .
This method was done by the German railroads and our American railways.
We never had a vehicle come undone.
Friendly suggestion Colin:
Do this video with 2 lifted Jeeps with each showing the two different ways.
A lifted Jeep would allow people to easily see what you're discussing.
Keep up the great work.👍
Why you don't cross is very simple, but if you can't understand it test it yourself. Tie down with 4 straps not crossed, then remove any one you like and drive around the block and your load won't move.
Now repeat but cross your straps. Remove any one of them and when you drive around the block your load will shift. It's as simple as that. All arguments are "but I've never had a strap fail" which is a really really stupid argument in the face of not crossing means 1 failure and you're still fine.
Common sense isn't so common.
I like your axle straps and almost straight pull to my D-rings for my tractors. Sometimes I add straps from the drawbar outward. A little difficult in my enclosed trailer.
Very useful info
Thanks
I use chains and cross them never lost anything or had anything move
New tie down method. Thansk
Good info...though way too much frame time for Colin and not nearly enough of the pretty Cyclone!
100% correct! I never cross straps.
It sucks that wheel straps don't work good with a lot of classic cars due to wheels recessed in fenders. Wheel straps are the least likely method to cause damage. If I can't use them I use chains to holes in frame and load the suspension to reduce bouncing, because loose chains going tight during bouncing is what breaks shit. I try to never secure a vehicle directly with suspension components.
What about crossing straps from the middle of the vehicle one front and on towards the back
I never crossed strapped for over 25 years until one time coming home from Florida in December in a snow storm coming north the Corvette slid sideways into the fender and the one rear tire was almost off the open trailer. I have crossed straps ever since and the car has never moved again. I have trailer Corvettes for over 40 years and the last three generations of Corvettes I use the "T" hook strap and nothing touches anything on the bottom the car and I am not attached to any suspension parts.
By the way, your straps are the "BEST".
The "T" strap hooks into the frame of the car. This is where the car haulers tie down the cars to the truck.
Called a t slot. Either use a t slot or mini j. I tow cars everyday
Thanks Dave! This Q&A has opened up a big can of worms for me. I just bought an enclosed trailer and next week going to trailer my Z06 9 hours for engine work. I bought t-hooks and some good straps. I think I'll stick to cross pattern as I don't have much wiggle room between fenders. Your lifetime of hauling Vettes is good enough for me. Issue resolved in my mind. Cheers from Canada :-)
I drove rollbacks and ran a fleet of rollbacks for over 20 years. We didn't cross because we were more concerned with the car moving vertically away from the bed or forward toward the cab and driver, not laterally. Think of it this way, in the event of a truck getting onto the shoulder, crossed straps won't prevent the car from "rolling over" on the bed and taking the truck with it. If the hauler hits something while moving forward, the shorter, more direct path of uncrossed chains have a lower chance of failure and a higher chance of letting the car move froward and hitting the cab and driver.
DOT stopped me one day and told me to cross my chains. I explained why I don't cross them and he agreed with me.
I came here to say something similar. . . the straps are to keep the load and the trailer connected as one. So if the load were to roll off the trailer as you describe, because the crossed straps only prohibit side motion but not vertical motion, now the load and trailer are merely two loads that are only tethered, not connected as one. And straps/chains are not meant to be shock loaded, so they're probably not going to stay tethered very long and now you've got two separate things rolling down the road.
I was trained by one guy to cross the straps but after thinking about it for a bit, I decided it was much safer to not cross the straps and if I was worried about the load shifting then provide blocking as a supplement.
Good video
Sick Cyclone...... LOVE IT! Art Morrison chassis are awesome
Trained in the military to cross strap. I like it. You must have been train at a different time than me. We were told to never cross strap because it can shift the load durning a break. We tried to avoid it as much as possible. Yes you are supposed to inspect your straps before each use. We used chains and straps both in the Army. You strap your cargo down the way you want, but you are liable for when that tie down breaks and hurt someone or you loose your cargo. Good luck.
That Cyclone is sweet. I love something different and cool.
We cross chains on our dozer. A couple years ago we had some kids pull right on front of us. We pretty much rolled over the front of the car , jackknifed the trailer and the dozer didn't move an inch.
Yeah you don't want that coming loose. I have heard a story, possibly a local urban legend, of a poorly secured machine left running in winter. Supposedly it somehow ended up in gear, drove over the front of the trailer, and ran the cab of the truck over as it was going down the road killing the driver.
No one is this video is discussing chains.
@@Tippyb97 No shit, this is about straps, which mostly everyone that hauls a car or Jeep uses.
@@2015_Rubicnn I KNOW they weren't referring to chains in the video. I was replying to this guys comment on chains and how irrelevant they were in this scenario.
@@Tippyb97 Yes, I was agreeing with you.👍
Too many people comparing their trucking experience and or heavy equipment hauling to this scenario.
All his arguments convince me more that crossed is best. I've hauled cars for over 40 years and NEVER had an issue with crossed straps. But just for sake of argument, what stops the car from moving sideways using straight straps? So his solution to make the straight strap a better case, is add another strap or bracket. lol
Bob Bradley there’s a reason your suppose to cross your chains. This guy is full of it.
you got that right, this guy is trying to sell 5.00 worth of rubber for 100.00 bucks..lol
Couldn’t add just one more strap… would have to be 2 to be straight pull and control side chatter. Got to stay with cross strapping. It ain’t moving any direction
I want that car! Very nice.
Good stuff...
Using T-hooks in the factory tie-down locations it's almost impossible to not cross unless you relocate the tie-down points inward -- the factory points are basically in-line with the wheels which then interfere with routing straight back to most trailer tie-down points.
Your point is why I had the rear tie downs on the deck of my custom trailer placed slightly inboard of the rear wheels. Works like a champ.
True! One of these days I'll have to see if I can weld in some different D-rings to my trailer. I'm sort of limited by where the steel frame is unfortunately.
Great info, we'll share in the towing section of our site. Thanks for posting this!
I understand his points but I'd much rather trust crossed 10K lb straps restraining the car laterally than a big block of rubber. Most of the classics I've towed have very secure, positive points to grab safely where there is very little, if any, strap migration. I use D ring straps over the solid axle, which are padded to not mar, and can easily wrap the axle and the front control arm. I've never had a car move.
yes if your trailer is upside down it’s already too late but… If you strap all four corners to a trailer and flipped it over then flipped it over back to upright The car would be in the exact same position. If you cross strapped the car as soon as you started tilting the trailer the car is going to lift and definitely will be floating in the air while it’s upside down and it will never land back on the trailer in the same position. so that being said, it’s always more secure to strap each corner straight down without cross strapping
Correction: For motorcycles, what I meant by forks was, you use the handlebars and when you ratchet down the straps, it compresses the forks. That means, the motorcycle cannot go up and down and it is secured. Years of doing this and zero issues.
Let’s see video of the Cyclone😁
Agreed 100% always strap knowing a tire good go flat and 1 strap is pulling and the other is loose. straps with clips wont fall off but 1 bump and the hook style or chain hook comes bobbles off. Only takes once. 47 years I have been good but seen way to many cross over and hook disasters.
Really what you’re saying is don’t use open hook connectors, use snap hooks. 100% agree.
I began crossing the straps purely out of necessity at first. Full size car on 18’ trailer… no room to ratchet tight on fronts due to limited length to d ring. And crossing solved side to side chatter also. Not 1 problem in 25 years… same straps too
But, what if the crossed straps are both near the pumpkin and there is very little to no chance of slippage?
That’s how you do it. Zero chance of movement… you’re using sleeved axle straps, so no chaffing issues
You should see what happens when 1 strap lets go when you have them crossed in an x. The remaining strap pulls the car to the side and loosens all the way and if you don’t notice pretty quickly that all your straps came loose witch most people rarely do then you usually keep driving until you hit a curve or some big bumps and your car falls off the trailer. With your straps straight front to back if 1 lets go the other 3 stay tight and still hold the car. It’s basic physics. You should never cross your straps.
I've always crossed chains and straps since it keeps the load centered. Coming from years of heavy equipment hauling and drag racing
Winch strap O ring through car wheel is proper method. Your straps connected to the car are not placed at proper angle.
Thanks for the video; I've been doing this for a few years myself, but always great to see and hear how others do it.
On that note, is there any reason why you guys (In the US, I'm in the UK) don't use Over Wheel Straps?
Came to ask that same question. Just towed my car with a rented trailer that just had front over the wheel straps. I thought about adding straps in the rear but ended up leaving it as it was. 200 miles each way without issue.
@@qwikz28 I think Mac's Tie Downs did reply, but the comment has gone. His answer was that Over wheel straps are used in the US, it's just a preference thing, I think.
Have to say though, I personally never move a vehicle without all four wheels strapped down. Plus here in the UK, they have quite specific guidelines and laws when it comes to restraints, depending on what kind of deck the vehicle is being transported on.
@@mathewdennison5354 thanks for the explanation. I do think the tire tie downs make more sense but I can see why it' may just be easier to use a universal strap in instead of a tire tie down that may be different from trucks to small cars.
Besides everybody just dropping something real quick and not worrying about securing it, most guys should worry about not speeding and you have less worries. Everybody wants to pick up the pace and do 65 75 miles an hour because they think they're making so much time on the job. There's nothing better than safety. Eight straps and don't speed and you'll always be fine
i use chains straps get old weather rot chains last forever i been hauling cars for 40 years never lost one
Nobody is going touch that beautiful Cyclone with chains
Let's see another video where the car has nothing but the wheels to strap to? A Porsche or newer Vet for example? Side to side is a problem, and those blocks will not work on my trailer, because I cannot always guarantee that the wheels will be in the exact same position on an enclosed trailer.
You need to get wheel stops so you can park the car in the same spot each time.
Colin's argument regarding strap migration is only valid if you assume the anchor points on the vehicle are crappy. Crossed steps are far superior if you use proper tie down points and strap hardware.
Nope.
As long as damage can occur when a vehicle slides to one side more than an inch (wide car inside an enclosed trailer) there must be a method of restraining lateral movement. I will cross the rear straps when using YOUR through-the-wheel straps setups on the enclosed trailer I pull. In some circumstances, even having straps "piano wire tight" will allow a car to have a parallelogram movement. Happened to me ONCE, and never again. Longitudinal and lateral motion MUST be controlled. Locations for anchor points matters a lot, so you must do what the trailer and cargo dictate! A recent haul had me using four (4) straps on the rear of the vehicle, to guarantee zero slippage in any plane. Too much is at stake!
Note: Your "through-the-wheel" straps cannot walk towards the center and lose tension. Crossing can certainly be THE way to go.
👍
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I can tell you, that while you think the car would Migrate Sideways, "If a strap gets loose"...Well it won't get loose in the first place...that's why you crossed them to begin with...When straps are straight forward and back, for every 1 millimeter they "stretch" the car moves 1 Millimeter Forward or Back... when you have them at a 45° Angle you are only changing the for/aft movement of the vehicle by 70% or .7mm of the 1mm of strap length change. (Though the percentage does go up for every degree you get closer to 0 or straight forward straps.)
There's more than one way to skin a cat
So I will continue to cross straps and save my money. Find a better place to attach your straps and move on.
All of your points are wrong. If secured properly crossed is the absolute best method.
Thank god I watched before commenting lol, I was gonna say why not do both?
Why not 6 or 8.. even better use a dozen straps. 🤪
Straps are cheap, do both!!!
T-hooks into the factory tie down locations crossed front and crossed rear is the best way. That is how those slots in the frame were intended to be used and the T-hooks are not going anywhere. For cars that do not have T-hook slots then I will agree for the most part do not cross. If you are tying down through the wheels or any suspension components, do not cross. T-hooks into the frame is the best way to tie down imo. Not only is it the most secure, strapping down the frame will limit suspension movement thus preserving the life of all your suspension components. For a race car that can see yearly rebuilds on coilovers, this is huge.
T hooks are designed to pull front to back. They can pop out when pulled on a angle.
Nonsense. Use your straps correctly and you won’t have those issues when you cross them.
Toooo many assumptions being made by him to support his theory
It drives me nuts when I see people who cross strap. It’s so dangerous. I understand it if your just strapping down like boxes or something like that. But no a vehicle. The strap manufacturers even tell you not to cross strap.
@Redrustyhill when you cross strap and one strap breaks. It pulls your load over to the opposite side of the trailer. The only time it’s good to cross strap is when you connect your safety chains to your tow vehicle. By cross strapping them you create a cradle Incase the trailer comes off the hitch. It will catch the trailer and keep it from digging it into the ground. Keeps you and everyone around you safe.
@Redrustyhill yes I was in the military and yes I have a CDL and yes I took classes in both and they both said the same thang. Yes this is a stupid agreement. I have been pulled over by DOT in Texas because the company I work for told us to cross strap our backhoes. We got away with it for years, but this DOT officer was not having it. I argued with the company I work for about doing it and that it was not safe. I got the ticket for an unsafe load. Had to correct it before the officer would let me pull off. Then had to explain it to my boss. Then the company I still work for, for over 20 years had DOT come to our office and give us a training corse. We sat down and watched a video showing the downside of cross strapping and how unsafe it is. The DOT office did however say there is some state that recommends cross strapping. You tie your load down the way you want. Just make it safe. I’m just sharing my experiences and training I’ve had. I’m not out to call people stupid or make them feel dumb. I just want them to be safe. Good luck.
@Redrustyhill please read the full comment. I was trained to never cross strap. The company I work for made us. I argued with the company I work for about it and they told us to just do it. So when the DOT officer gave me a ticket for a unsafe and secure load ( I thank thats what he called it ) I took that ticket to my company safety rep and supervisor and told them I will never cross strap again. I told them it was not safe, but the company got away with it for years. The company I work for tells it’s employees to except change, but they are not willing to except it themselves.The company I work for took a class given by DOT/TexDot on regulations after I got my ticket. It took someone getting a ticket to prove to them it was not safe. I was the one who had to pay the fine. Not the company. Even though I told them it was not safe. The company I still work for no longer cross straps. The company I work for is in 10 States and has ruffly 5,000 employees who drive big trucks and tie down heavy machinery. You tie your cargo down the way you want. I’m just sharing what I went through. I have had new straps and new chains break when I crossed strapped and it does shift loads when the chain/strap breaks. Things happen. Somethings are just uncontrollable. We learn from our mistakes and pass it on so that someone else doesn’t make the same mistakes. (( Just a FYI I have had new chains and straps beak also when NOT cross strapping, but the load DID NOT shift. )) Nobody is perfect. I’m not claiming to be perfect either. I have overlooked things even when I was doing my best not to miss anything. I have found broken chain links on a bran new chain. I have found stitches on a strap that were not right. It was like the sowing machine forgot what it was doing and the inspector just called it good and shipped it out. When I got it and looked at it, it was a hell no we are not using this. Just because something is new doesn’t mean it’s good. Inspect your tie downs and tie down points each time. I have seen D Rings break along with welds off trailers. Check them too. Be safe. Live long and prosper 🖖 LoL!!!
@@stgraves260 That’s not true about the safety chains “cradling” a tongue that has come off the hitch. It MIGHT be true if the attachment points on the tow vehicle stay at THE same level (they do, of course) AND the attachment points of the chains on the trailer stay at the same level...but they don’t. If the coupler comes uncoupled from the hitch, the tongue and safety chain mounts go down to the ground together.
@@speedpirate2597 then your chains are to long because that’s what they are for.
So wats your whole point of the video?
Chains - crossed or not
Straps - don't cross
This guy is clueless. If you don't cross the straps - the car will 1000% move side to side and will actually fly right into the side of the fender wells of your trailer. I've seen it happen more than once by car hauling rookies. Either over the wheel straps / or crossed axle straps. Do Not do what he's suggesting, you will regret it.
Don't let this man in the video strap down your car and you'll be fine. I will continue to X my Mac straps, save money and travel the 1000s of miles i do every year racing across the country. So does 100s of NMCA & NMRA competitors do.
What a bunch of bs... THERE IS NO REASON TO CROSS YOUR STRAPS! All this talk of lateral movement is a joke to me. Flatbed operator for 20+ years and have never seen 1 vehicle move laterally. Either way, 4 points is a must!!
right i was confused and it did not make sense at all. who df wanna listen to a guy probably with half year experience.
And on a giant flat bed, you wouldn’t even notice a couple inches lateral shift. On my car hauler it might mean the car side into the trailer fender. No thanks
@@CP-ux9zd We use straps that go over the tires and down to keyholes to the front and rear of EACH tire. That's downward and outward pressure to all 4 corners, nothing moves. I tow exotics, classics, customs this way ON A STEEL BED with no grip. There is NO LATERAL MOVEMENT ever.
If you have lateral movement or any movement, you are doing it wrong.
Sorry, but thew crossing serves a purpose and your argument is not sound nor I think you are qualified nor professionally trained to comment. I do this for a living and I have been fully qualified as a lorry loader securer here in the UK.
Finally, your version is right because it is better if somebody buys your PRODUCT.
Load of crap ... go ahead and uncross your hitch chains also lmao.
That argument makes no sense. There's no tension on hitch chains and the purpose is not to hold anything down.
The purpose of crossing hitch chains is to catch the tongue in the event it comes loose to prevent it from hitting the ground. Totally different situation.
@@slopsec2358 Yup, some people don't think before they spew 💩 😅
I don’t know about catching the trailer, but what it does do is gives proper slack for turning without so much slack chains drag the ground @@slopsec2358